Tensions
by The Masked Wanderer
Summary: After an unexpected incident tears the trio apart, tensions of events that happened long ago open up past wounds and forgotten memories. A Sora/Riku/Kairi drabble.


**Tensions**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts**

The three of them sat in the train in silence, unsure of what to say to one another. There was nothing left to speak; nothing they said would diminish the awkwardness they all felt towards one another.

Sora shifted a little in his seat. "So… how was your date, you two?"

Kairi gulped and said nothing. "Fine," she replied quickly, looking back at the window, making sure not to make direct contact with Sora's eyes.

Riku stepped in. "We saw _The Avengers, _finally."

This peaked Sora's interest. "Really?" He seemed enthusiastic. "How was it?"

"Awesome," Riku replied, momentarily dropping his guard. "Although," he added, raising it back up, "it was kinda ruined when Kairi started snoring. That kinda killed the mood."

This made Kairi jerked in her seat. "Yeah, so? How did you expect me to stay awake in that train wreck you called a film?"

"A film that got a ninety-three percent rating on Rotton Tomatoes, one of the best movie-critique sites in the universe!" Sora pointed out. "And everyone knows that critics never lie!"

"Oh, right!" Riku said, laughing. "This coming from the guy who couldn't even lie to his mom about going to get milk when he really wanted to check out the hot girls in the mall!"

Sora punched Riku in the arm. "Aw, come on! You were the one who wanted me to go!"

Kairi shook her head. "What am I going to do with you two? You're both a couple of dorks!"

The three began to burst out in laughter, attracting the attention of one old guy picking his nose in the previous compartment. But he soon looked away, getting back to his gold-digging.

There they were, three kids laughing out loud as if they didn't have a care in the world. And for a moment, they didn't. Everything seemed like it was exactly the way it was, back there on those mystical islands they called home. It was a tiny little place, where nothing went wrong and nobody did wrong. It had been their own private little sanctuary.

But not anymore.

Things had changed too much for that.

Not too long after the laughter started, it ended. Sora, who had been acting like his usual self, lost his smile, and sunk his head back into the position it had been in for the last three hours. Kairi's smile disappeared as well, and the radiance that had filled her face with beauty had completely vanished, and was now replaced by a strange cuteness that wasn't all that attractive, like she wasn't entirely deserving of those looks. And Riku? Riku had returned from being the person he had been all those years ago, in that private little sanctuary he had called home, to the person he was now, a hardened young man who had seen - and done - terrible things beyond anyone's imagination.

When they were thirty minutes away from their destination, Riku finally broke the silence. "Sora, listen to me. I'm sorry if we hurt you in any way. We didn't mean-"

"But it didn't stop you, did it?" Sora raged. Riku was taken aback, and took one step back from his friend.

"Sora, just let us explain-"

"Explain what? That you cheated on me behind my back? That while I've been trying to keep you safe from harm, you two hurt me worse than any Heartless or Nobody possibly could."

Kairi gasped, and looked down.

Sora sadly smiled, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "I didn't think so," he concluded, shaking his head. He then turned to Riku, casting him an icy cold glare. Riku did his best to avoid him, but ended up staring into those cold, unforgiving blue eyes.

He slowly began. "Kairi wasn't cheating on you, Sora. She was just lonely from you being gone so long, so I tried to make her feel better. That's all. We didn't touch, we didn't kiss. I just took her to the movies, that's all."

Sora looked away. "I want to believe you. I want to believe that my best friend is still my best friend, and he would never betray me. But after, you know-"

He couldn't bring himself to mention the horrible things that had happened nearly two years before. The day that changed everything. The day which he believed at the time to be the worst day of his life.

Until now.

But Riku knew. And he said nothing. Their friendship was so tight that neither of the two had to speak in order to know what was on the other's mind.

"After that," Sora continued, "I'm not so sure. How many best friends do you know just automatically start their friendships all over again with sunshine and daisies after something like that? As if nothing happened at all?"

Riku shook his head and chuckled. "So that's how it is, is it?"

Sora looked up. "What?"

"All this time, you lied to me. I knew it!"

Kairi gasped. "What the hell are you talking about, Riku?" She was shocked to hear this outburst from Riku.

A smile was planted on the silver-haired teen's face. But it wasn't a happy smile; no, nothing like that. No, it seemed both amused and ironic at the same time, like Riku had just realized that everything around him had been a lie.

And indeed, it was.

"You have both lied to me! You still see me as some monster who gave up everything all in pursuit of my own selfish desires. You act like you're the good guy, like you think that everyone is good in their own special way no matter how evil they are. But you know what you are, Sora? A goddamn hypocrite, that's what!"

"Shut the fuck up, Riku! How can you talk to Sora like that?" Kairi was fuming at this point, rising up to confront her friend. "After all he's done for you?"

"After all he's done for _me?_ " Riku laughed, with each laugh appearing to be forced and faked. "After all I've done for _him! _That's what you should have said! He wouldn't even be standing here if it wasn't for me!" Pointing at his former friend, he glared at Kairi. "Listen to this, Ms. Princess! While you were off prancing around on your little island, all safe and secure, I had to protect this little shithead from the Organization. You know why? Because they were planning to use him to take over the universe! He was sleeping, you know that? Something happened to him, and he lost his memories because of it! Remember that, Sora?"

Sora looked at his friend with surprise. "W…What are you talking about?"

Riku wagged his finger at Sora. "Oh, no, no, you couldn't possibly remember. You just walked in that castle like a fucking idiot, and you HAD to keep going, didn't you? Never mind that some little yellow-haired bitch was manipulating your feelings so that you'd fall in love with her! Never mind that some guys in black coats were pulling your strings like you were some puppet, prancing around in their hands while they kept crafting up their little plans. Never mind that you were stupid enough to believe that a half-baked clone could pass off as the REAL me! No, you just HAD to go in there, didn't you! You couldn't resist being the hero! NOT EVER!"

Sora put a hand to his forehead and started shaking all over. "W… what are you talking about? You're not making any sense, man!"

Kairi rushed over to where Sora was sitting, and held him close to her, letting him rest his head on her lap. "There, there, it's okay."

When Riku put a hand towards Sora, Kairi sprang into action and slapped his hand away.

"Don't, Riku. Just don't." Shaking her head, Kairi put her hands on Sora's neck, kissing the top of his forehead.

Smirking, Riku refused to give up; he was on a roll. "You just have to act all innocent and kind, don't you? All just to cover up your act! Just so that Sora will shun me and forgive you: that's how I see it!"

"You're wrong!" Kairi exclaimed. "I accept that what I did was wrong! I shouldn't have asked you to go with me! I was just lonely, that's all. It's But I…" She looked down at the boy sitting in her lap, who was tired from the recent events that had transpired. "I love him. And I know he loves me. And one day I know he'll understand why I went behind his back. And how sorry I am. And he'll forgive me, some day. Because…" She smiled, stroking his hair lovingly, "we were made for each other."

At once, all of Riku's anger dissipated. He then took Kairi's previous seat and sat down in silence.

"I'm sorry," he concluded, with a monotone voice. "I shouldn't have said all those things. It was childish and uncharacteristic of me. I hope you can forgive me."

Kairi nodded. "Yes." But it was a sad 'yes', like there was some part of her that hadn't completely forgiven him.

And this was why.

"What girl, Riku?"

The older boy looked up. "What?"

"You spoke about a girl who manipulated Sora to make him fall in love with him?"

Riku gulped. _Oh, shit. Namine's gonna kill me._

"Um…" He thought of the best way to explain this. "I, uh-"

"You have five seconds to explain yourself, Riku!" Kairi was cross, though it appeared that she was back in her fake-bitchy, usually cross self. Which meant she was back to normal.

"Er," Riku paused, before finally finding the right words to describe it. "The best way to know is to look deep inside yourself! Then you'll know for sure!"

"You men and your stupid cryptic messages! Why can't you two ever be straightforward like _normal _people?"

And they were off; three kids (minus one who was still sleeping) arguing like they didn't have a care in the world. And for a moment, they didn't. They could forget all their worries facing them once that train stopped. Once that train stopped, everything would be back to the way it was now. But here, in this train, everything could be the way it used to be; those three children, that private sanctuary, that same, beautiful sky. For one moment, one single moment, they could be amazing. They could be beautiful.

They could be infinite.

* * *

In the recesses of Sora's mind, a voice could be heard.

"He betrayed you! Your closest friend!"

The voice was mysterious and enigmatic. It sounded like a monster deep within him, ready to pounce at any given moment.

"He took your lover from you! Can you truly live with yourself knowing that everything you ever loved is gone? Fight it! Fight back! TAKE IT BACK! TAKE IT ALL BACK!"

All Sora could hear was a cackling sound, and all he could see was the darkness enveloping him in its embrace.

And he liked it.


End file.
